Facebook and Ray-Ban officially launch smart glasses

Facebook is taking its first stab at smart glasses through its partnership with Ray-Ban. The Ray-Ban Stories are glasses that bring the eyewear's classic Wayfarer designs and adds cameras, a microphone, and speakers to them. Each side hides a camera capable of shooting five-megapixel stills and videos of up to 30 seconds that you can trigger with a long or short tap on its single button. The camera setup is similar to Snap's Spectacles, but Ray-Ban Stories take this further with open-ear speakers and a three-mic audio array, which will let you control the glasses by voice.

This product is, first and foremost, a Ray-Ban device. According to Andrew Bosworth, Facebook Reality Labs' head, the glasses are designed to "help people live in the moment and stay connected to the people they are with and the people they wish they were with."

Facebook admits to the challenge the company faces when it comes to its history with user privacy concerns. "That's why we baked privacy directly into the product design and functionality of the full experience, from the start," the company said. 

There is a power switch to turn the cameras and microphone off, and there's an LED hardwired to the camera that shines a white light when you're taking photos or videos.

The Ray-Ban Stories glasses are now available for US$299 (around CA$377).

Source: The Guardian